The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a steam vent system, and in particular to a venting system that captures and removes steam vapor from district heating systems.
In large metropolitan areas, it is not uncommon for a central boiler system to be used to generate heat for multiple facilities in the surrounding area. This heating system is sometimes referred to as district heating or teleheating. The steam is transported via insulated pipes to subscribing buildings, which purchase the steam from the steam utility. Similar to an electric meter, a steam meter measures the amount of steam used by a particular building and the building owner is charged on a periodic basis.
The insulated pipes are typically routed underground, such as subsurface structures under or adjacent to city streets. In some cases subsurface structures are provided to allow service personnel access to the insulated pipes and components. These subsurface structures are commonly referred to as “manholes.” These manholes are accessed via openings, typically include a cover, such as a cylindrical disk for example, which encloses the subsurface structure. In the event of a leakage of steam from the insulated pipe and or a component, such as at a joint for example, the steam will typically flow through the manhole and exit through or around the manhole cover. Steam may also be generated by underground water infiltration that impinges or otherwise comes into contact with the pipes.
When this occurs, service personnel typically use steam vents to redirect the steam away from pedestrians and traffic until the steam vapor condition can be mitigated. These steam vents are currently made from high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) where the sections of the vent are fused together. These vents are heavy and cumbersome to handle. As a result, they are subjected to repeated impact loading when dropped due to the weight of the assembly. This causes premature joint failures, resulting in costly replacement of the steam vents. Previous version of steam vent designs used fiberglass layered material that was labor intensive and costly to produce and are vendor no longer exists.
Accordingly, while existing steam vent systems are suitable for their intended purposes the need for improvement remains, particularly in providing a durable, joint free light weight and cost effective steam vent system.